Barbara Damrosch

The 21st century has seen many old European salad crops — such as arugula, mache and radicchio — become popular in America, boldly going where only iceberg lettuce had gone before. Sorrel, oddly enough, has yet to arrive. In France, it’s as popular as spinach, and in the days when Paris was ringed with market …

The stack of mail was heavy with seed catalogs throughout December and January. Now it’s noisy with the swish and rattle of seeds. Seductive little envelopes whisper “Plant me” to the winter-weary gardener. Yet it’s still too early for most spring planting, outdoors or in. Resist those voices. Seedlings sown prematurely grow tall and spindly …

New ethnic vegetables enter the culinary scene all the time, and the best become multicultural, eventually. Tatsoi, for instance, may not be a household word yet in your kitchen, but in mine it refers to an Asian green, international in scope. When I overwinter it in our unheated greenhouse, I use it almost every day. …

“Oh, oh, oh…,” our dinner guest murmured. “Where did you get these lovely little leeks?” In June it would have been a compliment, but that November, thanks to a delayed planting, my leeks were a pitiful size, lovely or not. With winter varieties, size counts. You want a beefy leek, a stouthearted leek to hold …

If you are reading this after 11:28 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, Dec. 21, an important moment has occurred and you should pause to observe it. It’s the Winter Solstice when the days stop shortening, reverse direction, and begin to grow long again. If you pay attention to these things, you’ll notice a lag …

King Arthur would have known just what to do. My heftiest chef knife was plunged to the hilt in a blue Hubbard squash twice the size of a Thanksgiving turkey and only a heroic effort would remove it. I found that by drawing the handle toward me as far as it would go, then thrusting …

One year, a while back, some friends declined a Thanksgiving invitation because of “the fixation on the turkey” that the holiday entails. Because they were vegetarians, I understood and respected their wishes. But it got me pondering about Thanksgiving, a holiday I love but one whose meaning has often shifted over time. Thanksgiving’s connection with …

In the 1989 film “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” Michelle Pfeiffer’s character is trying to demonstrate the utter banality of the song “Feelings.” “It’s like parsley,” she says, holding up a sprig from her plate. “Take it away and no one would know the difference.” That’s certainly the common view of parsley — a frilly tuft …

Their leaves are rough or leathery, in shades of gray or blue-green. They thrive among sand and rocks and gravel. Though often woody, they’re kept low and scrubby by the nibbling of goats, and by occasional fires, fueled by the volatile oils from their aromatic leaves. These are the classic garden herbs, celebrated in kitchens …

Gardening is often said to be the most popular leisure pastime in America. This statistic includes lawn-mowing, which might not fit your definition of gardening — or leisure. But most garden work is healthful outdoor play that gives you delicious food and beautiful surroundings. Gardening has only one drawback as an American hobby. It doesn’t …